Oak Ridge Today

City board rejects request for more time for repairs at Applewood

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An Oak Ridge board has rejected a request for more time, or even a waiver, for making exterior repairs at the 13 now-empty Applewood Apartment building on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle. The request came from property Joe Levitt, right, a Knoxville attorney. At left is Oak Ridge Code Enforcement Inspector Lisa Crumpley. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An Oak Ridge board has rejected a request for more time, or even a waiver, for making exterior repairs at the 13 now-vacant Applewood Apartment building on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle. The request came from property Joe Levitt, right, a Knoxville attorney. At left is Oak Ridge Code Enforcement Inspector Lisa Crumpley. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:10 a.m.

An Oak Ridge board has rejected a request for more time, or even a waiver, for making exterior repairs at the 13 now-vacant Applewood Apartments buildings on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle.

The Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals rejected the request from Applewood Apartments owner Joe Levitt in a 5-1 vote on Thursday.

Levitt had asked for a waiver or one-year extension for time to paint or stain the exteriors of the apartment buildings.

The condition of the exteriors had been cited in code violation notices issued by Oak Ridge Code Enforcement Inspector Lisa Crumpley on February 6. She said the exteriors of the apartment buildings need to be stained or painted. The siding on the buildings is chipping and fading, and it is disrepair in places, Crumpley said.

She also said trash and debris are accumulating at the apartments.

Levitt said the debris at the apartments is being addressed bi-weekly. [Read more…]

Dodson, Hope, Vogel win City Council seats

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Jim Dodson

Jim Dodson

Jim Dodson, Chuck Hope, and Hans Vogel won the three open seats on Oak Ridge City Council, according to unofficial results in Anderson and Roane counties.

Dodson, a Jefferson Middle School art teacher who has been heavily involved in community and volunteer activities, received a total of 6,902 votes, including 5,957 in Anderson County and 945 in Roane County. He collected the most votes in Anderson County.

Hope, the only incumbent in the race, received 6,040 votes, with 5,016 in Anderson County and 1,024 in Roane County. He was the top vote-getter in Roane County.

Vogel, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory employee who, like Dodson, was making his first run for a City Council seat, earned 4,439 votes, with 3,568 in Anderson County and 871 in Roane County. [Read more…]

Dodson, Hope, Vogel lead in early voting for City Council

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Jim Dodson Cropped

Jim Dodson

 

Note: This story was updated at 9:15 p.m.

Jim Dodson, Chuck Hope, and Hans Vogel lead in early voting in Anderson County for Oak Ridge City Council, according to unofficial results posted on the Anderson County Election Commission website on Tuesday evening.

Dodson, running for City Council for the first time, had 4,088 early votes. Hope, the only incumbent, had 3,398. Vogel, who is also making his first run, received 2,544.

There are three open seats on the seven-member City Council. Two incumbents, Trina Baughn and Charlie Hensley, did not seek re-election.

Dodson, Hope, and Vogel also have a lead in early voting in Roane County, according to unofficial results posted at 8:33 p.m. Tuesday. Hope led with 853 early votes, Dodson had 786, and Vogel had 762. [Read more…]

Letter: Lee professional, informed about issues and solutions, passionate about city growth

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To the Editor:

I met Mr. Joseph Lee shortly after my family moved to Oak Ridge in 2005. He introduced himself to me and welcomed us to Oak Ridge. Mr. Lee did not ask me if I was a Democrat or Republican, didn’t ask about our religion, or what my background was. He simply welcomed me to Oak Ridge! He may not even remember.

Early on as a resident, I got involved in promotion of the city in the campaign to bring Target to Oak Ridge. Even as a short-time resident, it was easy to see Oak Ridge needed more shopping options and opportunities to increase both sales and property tax bases. I observed Joe Lee promoting passage of the referendum.

Mr. Lee’s promotion of and work in support of Oak Ridge didn’t end with Oak Ridge losing Target. I learned that Mr. Lee was on the board of the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals. Among work on that board, Joe Lee proffered the strategy that formed the basis of the plan to restore the Guest House. Mr. Lee worked diligently to affect resolutions of blighted and abandoned properties. [Read more…]

Hope responds to PAC endorsements

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope, the one incumbent running for re-election in the November 8 election, has responded to the endorsements by the Progress PAC political action committee.

The Progress PAC endorsed Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel, who are all making their first runs for seats on the seven-member City Council. The endorsements were announced last week.

Hope was not endorsed. You can see his response here.

The PAC was established two years ago by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, and it operates autonomously from the Chamber’s Board.

All six of the candidates endorsed by the Progress PAC two years ago were elected, although one candidate who wasn’t endorsed, Rick Chinn, was also elected. [Read more…]

Column: Hope, the incumbent, responds to PAC endorsements

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

By Chuck Hope

First of all, I want to say congratulations to Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel on being endorsed by the Chamber’s Progress PAC political action committee. I think it is important for the citizens of Oak Ridge to know that those three candidates are not the only candidates who support a vital economic development plan for Oak Ridge.

My community involvement has been extensive, serving on both the Chamber Board and the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City’s Beer Permit Board before being appointed to Council. I was selected by a council majority in July 2011 to fill a vacated council seat and successfully ran for election in 2012. My vision for economic development is to continue to grow our retail sector while continuing to work harder on industrial growth opportunities. Growth like carbon fiber, whose industry is showing a lot of promise right now.

I want voters to know that I was the top vote-getter in my first election, and I am one of just a few Council members that have been on both the Chamber of Commerce Board (chairman in 2010) and City Council. I have been a businessman in Oak Ridge since 1982, and during the past 15 years, I have supported the City/Chamber contracts and aligned myself with what I thought to be the Chamber’s “mission, vision, and legislative priorities,” and worked closely with the Oak Ridge Board of Education. [Read more…]

Letter: Lee has unmatched knowledge, optimism regarding city, its future

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To the Editor:

I am writing in support of my friend Joe Lee’s candidacy for Oak Ridge City Council in the coming election.

Born and raised in Oak Ridge, Joe’s knowledge and optimism regarding the city and its future are unmatched.

For almost a decade, he has served as a citizen on the city’s Board of Building and Housing Code of Appeals. His ability to get things done is evidenced in his leadership in bringing attention and appropriate action to the problems of blighted, abandoned, or neglected properties. [Read more…]

Progress PAC endorses Dodson, Lee, Vogel for City Council

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jim-dodson-joe-lee-hans-vogel

Pictured above from left to right are Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel.

 

The Progress PAC political action committee has endorsed Jim Dodson, Joe Lee, and Hans Vogel for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 8 election.

The endorsements were announced Wednesday.

“From a crowded field of seven outstanding city council candidates, these three most clearly met the committee’s criteria, which includes support of the mission, vision, and legislative priorities of the Oak Ridge Chamber and a willingness to work closely with the Oak Ridge Board of Education,” Progress PAC Chairman Stephen Whitson said in a press release. [Read more…]

Hensley endorses Lee, Dodson, Vogel

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To the Editor:

The City Council election coming up is very important to the future of Oak Ridge. We, as a community, are seeing significant positive change in many areas including retail growth, business recruitment, and quality of life. This election, in my opinion, can set the stage for further positive change and quality growth.

There are three candidates in my opinion, who are seeking seats on Oak Ridge City Council, who can continue and accelerate our city’s progress. Joe Lee, Jim Dodson, and Hans Vogel have impressive and varied experiences to bring to bear on city issues. All three of these candidates have demonstrated, through their careers and dedication to city service, their potential as Council members and that consensus building and teamwork are keys in their approaches to make things happen.

Joe Lee [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber to host City Council forum on Tuesday

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s Advocacy Committee is hosting its final forum of the 2016 election season. The forum for candidates running for Oak Ridge City Council will be held at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 18, in the Joyce Conference Room at the Chamber, which is at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The forum is free, and the public is encouraged to attend. All candidates for City Council—Jim Dodson, Wende Doolittle, Anne Garcia Garland, Chuck Hope, Joe Lee, Mark LeNoir, and Hans Vogel—have indicated their intention to participate in the forum, a press release said. [Read more…]

Lee, a construction superintendent, running for Oak Ridge City Council

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Joe Lee

Joe Lee (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Joseph “Joe” Lee, a commercial construction worker who is now a field superintendent for a project at the University of Tennessee, is running for Oak Ridge City Council in the November 8 election.

Lee, an Oak Ridge native, announced his candidacy this month, and he said he has qualified to be on the ballot in November.

Lee is a 1970 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, and he attended Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. He returned to his hometown in 1987 and was employed by Downtown Management Company as construction manager during the time known as “The Mall Wars,” a press release said. He met Julie Easterday there, and they were married in 1989. They now have two daughters, Lindsay and Loren.

The press release said​ Lee has worked his entire career in the commercial construction industry as either carpenter, superintendent, or construction manager. He has worked throughout the Southeast on industrial, institutional, and commercial projects, the release said. [Read more…]

ORPD review expanded to include all employees, some former workers

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Oak Ridge Police Department Cars

But MTAS will have to agree to changes

The review of the Oak Ridge Police Department has been expanded to include interviews with all employees. The review could also include interviews with former employees who have left the Police Department since Police Chief Jim Akagi started almost four years ago.

Initial plans had called for a limited review of the Oak Ridge Police Department and interviews of a random sample or cross-section of employees.

But the Oak Ridge City Council expanded the review during a special meeting on Tuesday. That special meeting was called after concerns were raised about the initial list of randomly selected interviewees being sent to the police chief, city manager, and all Police Department employees, which raised questions about the impartiality and confidentiality of the review.

By one estimate, the expanded review could include interviews with more than 100 people. And it’s not clear if the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee will agree to the expanded review, or if they might charge the city.

The City Council agreed to expand the review during a three-hour special meeting on Tuesday that included criticism of MTAS, accusations of collusion between Council members, and an attempt by Council member Trina Baughn to have resident Joe Lee, one of her chief critics, stop taking pictures during a public comment session. [Read more…]